I had first bought the A55 but then was tempted by the balanced output on ZX300 so bought that one too. Have been listening to both for about 2 weeks now. One of them has to go back! Which one will it be...
I am using an Hifiman Sundara planar headset to do my A/B listening between the 2 DAPs. I bought a balanced 4.4mm-> 2 x 3.5mm cable on Amazon to utilize the balanced output port for the Hifiman+ZX300 combo.
They both have about 60-70 hours of burnin*. The ZX300 has 25 hrs on the stereo port, and about 45 on the balanced port (I realize this is much less than Sony's recommended 200 hrs on each port for ZX300). The headset is about 100 hours in. 50% was critical listening, and the rest was pure burnin time overnight on a shuffle play thru my MP3/FLAC collection at about 75% volume (90/120 on both DAPs).
My observations about what I like on each DAP --
ZX300
1) Love the matte glass screen - zero fingerprints and the premium look.
2) Balanced output has more power for future expandability into say the Sennheiser line of headsets (HD8xx line) which are hard to drive (300ohms or higher)
3) Full metal body + buttons feels (and is) premium [worth the bump in price to me]
4) 10 band equalizer, but loses ClearAudio+ and the VPT surround settings
5) The sound output seems more neutral, doesn't add any undue color to the track and keeps it real.
A55
1) Sound quality seems more tuned and not neutral, but more fun to listen to
2) Seems like a slightly wider soundstage to me
3) Better lower bass extension
4) Not a fan of its plasticky body (esp. the buttons feel cheap); glossy screen is a fingerprint magnet.
One more thing about the volume levels - on the same dial settings (90/120) the A55 sounded much louder than the ZX300 which took me back at first. After carefully comparing them, it seems to me that the ZX300 was able to match the A55 on its loudness when it's high-gain output is selected. At that point, the 2 players sounded exactly same in loudness! It would seem to me that the A55 circuitry is mimicking the high-gain mode by default. Of course, this does not jive with Sony's spec of 35+35mW for A55 vs. 50+50mW for the ZX300 (no high-gain). Not sure what to say about that...
I am torn. Price-aside, I really want to like (and keep) the ZX300. But it seems like the A55 is more fun sound-wise with more color to the output (both players were set to neutral output or equivalent increases in bass/treble areas) while over the stereo port. On balanced port, ZX300 seems slightly better with more stereo imaging and instrument separation and cleaner bass. I do intend to listen to the balanced port exclusively if I choose to keep the ZX300.
Anyone gone thru a similar dilemma or have relevant advice? Appreciate your thoughts very much!
Thanks!
========
* One thing about burnin though - Sony recommends 200 hrs on each port for ZX300, while it makes no such recommendation at all for the A55. I will admit that the A55 sounded much better from the get go, however ZX300 gave me pause at first (very narrow soundstage, lower volume at equivalent settings of 90/120) but it opened up after the first 20 hrs of burnin and seems to be steadily getting better. But it is nowhere close to the 200 hrs that Sony recommends - so there is a possibility that it will get better and better. Perhaps I should wait to hit that mark before truly deciding between the 2 players?
I am using an Hifiman Sundara planar headset to do my A/B listening between the 2 DAPs. I bought a balanced 4.4mm-> 2 x 3.5mm cable on Amazon to utilize the balanced output port for the Hifiman+ZX300 combo.
They both have about 60-70 hours of burnin*. The ZX300 has 25 hrs on the stereo port, and about 45 on the balanced port (I realize this is much less than Sony's recommended 200 hrs on each port for ZX300). The headset is about 100 hours in. 50% was critical listening, and the rest was pure burnin time overnight on a shuffle play thru my MP3/FLAC collection at about 75% volume (90/120 on both DAPs).
My observations about what I like on each DAP --
ZX300
1) Love the matte glass screen - zero fingerprints and the premium look.
2) Balanced output has more power for future expandability into say the Sennheiser line of headsets (HD8xx line) which are hard to drive (300ohms or higher)
3) Full metal body + buttons feels (and is) premium [worth the bump in price to me]
4) 10 band equalizer, but loses ClearAudio+ and the VPT surround settings
5) The sound output seems more neutral, doesn't add any undue color to the track and keeps it real.
A55
1) Sound quality seems more tuned and not neutral, but more fun to listen to
2) Seems like a slightly wider soundstage to me
3) Better lower bass extension
4) Not a fan of its plasticky body (esp. the buttons feel cheap); glossy screen is a fingerprint magnet.
One more thing about the volume levels - on the same dial settings (90/120) the A55 sounded much louder than the ZX300 which took me back at first. After carefully comparing them, it seems to me that the ZX300 was able to match the A55 on its loudness when it's high-gain output is selected. At that point, the 2 players sounded exactly same in loudness! It would seem to me that the A55 circuitry is mimicking the high-gain mode by default. Of course, this does not jive with Sony's spec of 35+35mW for A55 vs. 50+50mW for the ZX300 (no high-gain). Not sure what to say about that...
I am torn. Price-aside, I really want to like (and keep) the ZX300. But it seems like the A55 is more fun sound-wise with more color to the output (both players were set to neutral output or equivalent increases in bass/treble areas) while over the stereo port. On balanced port, ZX300 seems slightly better with more stereo imaging and instrument separation and cleaner bass. I do intend to listen to the balanced port exclusively if I choose to keep the ZX300.
Anyone gone thru a similar dilemma or have relevant advice? Appreciate your thoughts very much!
Thanks!
========
* One thing about burnin though - Sony recommends 200 hrs on each port for ZX300, while it makes no such recommendation at all for the A55. I will admit that the A55 sounded much better from the get go, however ZX300 gave me pause at first (very narrow soundstage, lower volume at equivalent settings of 90/120) but it opened up after the first 20 hrs of burnin and seems to be steadily getting better. But it is nowhere close to the 200 hrs that Sony recommends - so there is a possibility that it will get better and better. Perhaps I should wait to hit that mark before truly deciding between the 2 players?
